Back Garden Biology

Feb 07 2021 20 ep. 15 mins 306

Back Garden Biology Podcast artwork

In this fun and informative series Dr Lindsay Turnbull, Associate Professor and Fellow of The Queen’s College, Oxford University, looks at the biology of the back garden. This series is recorded hot off the press in a normal garden in England beginning in March 2020 and would be of interest to anyone from age 5+. The series is particularly useful for children missing school who would like to carry on practical work in their own garden and have an expert help them understand the theory behind everyday biology. Packed with things to see right now, take the edge off your enforced boredom by venturing into the back garden.

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The Worm that Turned

Feb 07 2021 17 mins

The species with the biggest biomass in any garden is almost certainly the earthworm. These humble denizens of our soil provide essential services by turning over soil and promoting plant growth. Professor Peter Holland explains why Darwin found them so fascinating and Lindsay explains how their muscles work, allowing them to escape from birds, no matter how early they turn up.

Seeing the Wood for the Trees (Part II)

Jan 24 2021 13 mins

We take a walk around a local park to admire more winter trees and see why conifers win over broadleaved trees as we move further North, but even they have to drop their needles during the winter in the farthest reaches of the Boreal forest. Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales; http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/

Seeing the Wood for the Trees

Jan 06 2021 17 mins

In winter the bones of the trees are laid bare, giving us a chance to see their skeletons. Join Lindsay as she takes a tour round Wytham Woods in Oxford, showing you how to identify our common native trees from their bark and the shape of their branches. Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales; http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0

One billion years a slave

Aug 06 2020 16 mins

Peering into a drop of pondwater allows you to look back in time and see key events in the history of life on Earth. In this episode we learn where plants obtained the machinery needed for photosynthesis and find out how hard it is for multicellular beings to form. Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales; http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b

Feed the birds?

Jul 28 2020 16 mins

What do birds like eating and what decisions do they have to make when visiting a bird feeder? Not quite tuppence a bag - Brits spent around 200 million pounds a year on bird food. But what do birds like eating and what decisions do they have to make when visiting a feeder? Lindsay visits her mum's garden to get some close-up shots, Friederike Hillemann tells us about her research

Interview with a Vampire

Jul 10 2020 14 mins

Find out how plants like mistletoe and hayrattle extract resources from their hosts and how hayrattle engages in a game of rock, paper, scissors, that makes managing meadows a whole lot easier. Around half of the species on our planet are parasites. Plants can play this game, being either partially or fully parasitic on their hosts. Find out how plants like mistletoe and hayrattle

Much ado about mothing

Jun 30 2020 19 mins

Dedicated to moths, this episode explores how and why these unsung heroes deserve more attention. Lindsay examines the horse chestnut leaf miner and hunts for spectacular hornet moths in her local park; Doug Boyes explains why he is a life-long fan; and Professor Ben Sheldon empties his moth-trap so we can all see who’s hanging out in the garden at night. Creative Commons Attribu

Stop the pigeon? Never!

Jun 14 2020 16 mins

Woodpigeons are common garden birds, whose familiar call has been likened to someone complaining about their feet. But woodpigeons make fantastic parents, and like all pigeons and doves produce a kind of 'milk' to feed their young. Find out more about them and discover how an Oxford PhD student is trying to uncover more about the feral pigeons in town centres and their wild relativ

All that glitters

Jun 04 2020 15 mins

Find out how birds, insects and plants exploit iridescence. The natural world is filled with colour, but colours can be produced in different ways. Solid colours are due to chemical pigments, but other colour phenomena, such as iridescence are due to physical structures. Find out how birds, insects and plants exploit iridescence to dazzle sexual partners and intimidate rivals, or e

Three little birds

May 29 2020 16 mins

Blue and great tits commonly use nest-boxes in gardens. In this episode we explore their nesting behaviour and get a priviledged view inside the nest-boxes at Wytham Woods. We explore what determines the number of eggs that they lay and ask whether could they lay more. Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales; http://creativecommons.org/licens